


The Outsiders

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: Summer's Boys [13]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers R.P.M.
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Drama, F/F, F/M, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-28
Updated: 2012-01-27
Packaged: 2017-10-23 03:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/245796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Venjix destroyed humanity, Corinth City served as a beacon of hope to the survivors. Some were able to make the city safely. Others were left outside. This is the story of a group of survivors who struggled together to prove that survival is possible and victory against Venjix doesn't belong just to Power Rangers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Return to Winterlight Farm

**Author's Note:**

> This is an original story written in the Summer's Boys universe and runs concurrent with Get in Gear. There will be a merge between GIG and Outsiders in the next five to ten chapters of GIG. Nicole Winter-Thorn is an original character taken from The Power of Friends: Honor and is Chip's adopted cousin, although they also consider themselves as brother and sister. William Rawlings is the son of Joel and Angela Rawlings, and Lance Rocca is the child of Chip and Vida genetically, although he also considers Xander his dad. (Vipander!). Finally Eric McKnight, Conner's brother and ninja school drop out. He is, I think, my only real cannon character.

She isn't ready to get off the bike yet. She knows that when she stands up and takes her helmet off, she will have something else to count. It seems like she is always counting, the number of people she couldn't save, the number of days since the Fall, the number of children she has to feed. Never a fan of math, or numbers in general Before; the numbers have become the only thing keeping her going, but she's not sure she can handle another number. Her wrist piece beeped and Nicole Winter-Thorne shook her head, this was not the time to be daydreaming.

Nicole slid off the bike and took up her helmet. She pushed the bike up to house and, with a wince for her adopted mother's floors, inside. It wouldn't do to leave a working, energy adapted bike out where anyone could find it. Even if it weren't stolen, it would give her away. She walked through the house quickly, ignoring the signs of looters and destruction on her way to the back door. It opened before she got there and Nicole froze, hand dropping to her blaster. "Nicole?"

Madison slipped around the door, her head tilted slightly, "Madison," Nicole said, and raised her blaster, "Prove yourself."

Madison looked sad, but she pulled out her wand, no longer disguised as a cell phone, and waved it in the air. A heart of water formed between them, and then shot forward, soaking Nicole with little warning. "Proof enough?" Madison asked.

Nicole blinked and shook her head slightly, "Cute. How do you know I'm not a bot?"

"You would never have found Winterlight if you had even a hint of non-organic material in you." Madison replied, "We've hidden our outposts well."

"So I see," Nicole said.

"Why are you here?" Madison asked, "You haven't been near Winterlight in years, even before Venjix."

Nicole lifted her wrist, "Where I've been doesn't really matter, Maddie. Why I'm here does." She crossed her arms, giving Madison a long look, "I'm helping protect a group of refugees out of Sacramento and we can't stay there much longer. During the evacuation, the Mystic Force took in Briarwood civilians, and others. Is that protection still available?"

Madison's sorrow increased, "We can't, Nicole. If we open the barriers, we risk a Venjix operative getting in."

"My people are clean," Nicole replied.

"That isn't my decision, Nicole," Madison said, "we had three operatives sneak in that we missed."

"What happened?" Nicole asked, her stomach sinking.

"Caidy's dead," Madison said tonelessly, "Anna probably won't ever walk again. Lance is traumatized. Claire has lost her sight. Daggeron and Leanbow still haven't finished healing."

"But Chip," Nicole began.

Madison's eyes filled with tears as she gently interrupted her, "Vida, Xander and Chip were covering the last of the evacuees to the forest when the Army arrived. They were arguing with the Army when Venjix's forces attacked. Vida, Xander, Chip, Monica, Arthur and Gwen never made it to the forest."

"You have Lance, though," Nicole said.

"Lance was in Rootcore but Wildfire and Firefly took off back to Briarwood, Monica followed. Chip was tracking them down when Venjix attacked." Madison said.

"I see," Nicole replied. She tilted her head slightly, "You said Lance was traumatized?"

"He's never seen anyone hurt as badly as Anna, or die like Caidy did. He's so timid now, it's hard to believe he's Vida's son." Madison replied.

Nicole nodded, "How's his magic and his training?"

"About as well as can be expected," Madison said, "he hasn't done more than archery training since the attack, but his spell work has always been advanced."

Nicole took a deep breath, "If I can't bring the refugees here, we're going to make a try for Corinth. If you think it might help, we could use a healer, apprentice or not."

Madison smiled, "I'll ask. Getting away from Rootcore might make all the difference in the world."

"Thank," Nicole began, but Madison vanished in a swirl of sparks, "you."

She sighed and continued out the back door. Looking around, she was struck by how much the farm had changed. Even as her mind started to wander, Nicole's feet carried her out to the equipment shed, where she hoped she would find the ATV and trailer. If it was there, and the Mystics allowed, she'd bring it back to help her people.

The ATV was there, just as she'd remembered, as was the trailer. Smiling, Nicole began to check the machine over. It looked ok, all it needed was to be converted for solar and she had a kid who was an expert at the adaptation. "Nicole?"

Nicole turned, grabbing her blaster from where she'd set it down. Nick and Lance stood in the doorway, "Can I take this?" She said bluntly.

"Yes," Nick said instantly. "Just, remember us to Corinth."

"I will," Nicole said, "Lance, are you coming and can you drive this?"

"Yes," Lance replied, "I can."

"Good," Nicole replied, "Nick, one more thing. Can you wiggle your nose and make sure this will run for a few days? I've got someone in the group who can convert the energy modules, but we got to get this down there first."

"I don't wiggle my nose," Nick said, "but," he snapped his fingers and the ATV roared to life, "will that do?"

"Thanks," Nicole said.

"I know that spell," Lance said, "I can do it too if you need it."

"Thanks kid," Nicole told him, "but like I told Maddie, what we really need is a healer. Chip always said you had the heart for it, and the skill."

The freckled red head gave her a shy grin, "Thanks," he said.

"I hope you make it safe," Nick said, "be careful, Nicole Winter."

"Winter-Thorne," Nicole corrected him. "Let's go, Lance. 'Long goodbyes give the enemy time to aim.'"

Lance hugged Nick and slid onto the ATV, "I'm telling Maddie who you quoted," Nick told her seriously.

"Bite me," Nicole replied as she finished hooking up the trailer. "Wait for me by the gate, Lance."


	2. The Camp

Their arrival at the camp was notable only because they were being chased by a pair of Grinders. Nicole had chosen the cliff side retreat because of the protection it provided, but also because there was a good spot for making a stand before you actually got to the camp. That particular place on the trail was lower than the camp, making it easier for the sentries on guard to provide cover. It proved unneeded in this instance, because Lance, unable to take the ATV up the trail to the camp, stopped, threw himself out of the ATV and unleashed a magical explosion that caused the bikes the Grinders were using to implode and take the Grinders out with them.

As Nicole picked herself up from the rocks, having been thrown by the backlash, she demanded, "Couldn't you have done that before?"

Lance gave her a tired grin as he picked himself up off the ground, "And let you miss out on the fun?" He sobered instantly, "I can't do that all the time, Aunt Nicole. It's hard to focus it, and I don't have the kind of power Dad did, much less Mom."

"First off, it's _just_ Nicole, same as it's always been," Nicole told him as she picked up her bike, "Second, don't think you have to be all powerful. Just knowing that you can handle yourself against Grinders if you have to is better than I can say for some of these idiots."

"Hey!"

Nicole glanced up and scowled at the older man who was leading a group down the trail, "Bite me, Eric McKnight. I'm just calling it as I see it." She pointed, "Lance, this is Eric McKnight, brother to a Red Ranger and one time ninja student. McKnight, this is Charles Lancelot Rocca, or Lance, he's a Ranger kid and apprentice Healer. Also, he's family."

"Nice to meet you," Eric said, nodding absently to Lance, "What about Briarwood?"

Nicole shook her head slightly, "The Gate's been sealed. They had Venjix 'bots get in, killed a few people." She hesitated, "Eric, my brother Chip and his partners, they weren't there, nor any of the other kids."

Eric paled, "Oh Nicole, I'm so sorry."

Nicole smiled, "I tried, you know? It looks like we have to go to Corinth."

"What about Lance?" Eric said.

"Change of scenery," Nicole said, "besides, we need a healer."

"Right," Eric agreed.

Nicole smirked, "Besides, you saw what he did to those Grinders. You can't deny that he's impressive." She eyed the group coming down from the camp, "Rawlings, William," she called, spotting her dark skinned mechanic.

"'Sup, Boss-Lady?" Will asked as he joined them.

Nicole gave him a withering look, and pointed at the ATV, "We need that converted ASAP. Also, plan a complete overhaul for my bike. If we're going over the mountains, we need everything in peak condition."

"Right on," Will said with a salute.

Nicole shook her head and pointed at Lance, "Get your bag, kid and let's go."

The camp, as Nicole thought of it, consisted of twenty-five people between fifteen and thirty who had survived the Battle of Sacramento and had avoided the Venjix patrols. Nicole had started with protecting the four fifteen year olds, but she'd met up with Eric's group six months back when they'd left the city to the more violent survivors who were already adapting to Armageddon by encouraging anarchy and the law of the jungle. Eric was leading a group of Ninja students from the Wind Ninja Academy, they had been off campus on some sort of training mission when Venjix broke through the Academy protections. Eric himself had never completed Ninja training, but Will, the student-teacher of the group, had met Eric through his father and Eric's brother and had found the forest ranger after getting his class free of Venjix's net. That had brought the group from five to fifteen, with the final ten being a group they'd rescued from a Venjix prison camp.

As Nicole looked around, she worried how people were going to react to her news. She whistled, "Everyone, gather around." She ordered. "Lance, stand here beside me." When everyone was settled and could hear her, she began, "All right, as you might have surmised, my trip to Briarwood was a bust. I was told that while yes, they had been accepting refugees at first that is no longer the case. Venjix managed to get some of those droids of his in with some refugees and caused a lot of havoc."

"More than that," Lance said bitterly, "Three of the Mystic Rangers died defending Briarwood. The other two had been called away to deal with an issue between Fire Heart and the Fire Sprites. Those bots killed ten people that I know of, one of them, Caidy Russell, were being trained as the next Mystic Red. The Vampire Queen's daughter Anna is probably going to be a paraplegic for the rest of her life. The Gatekeeper is blind, the Solaris Knight and the Crimson Warrior are still healing. No one has seen the Oracle since the attack either, but we're hoping he escaped and wasn't killed."

"This is Charles Lancelot Rocca," Nicole continued, "his parents were Mystic Rangers, and he's been training as a healer, Mystic and a knight since he was a child. Lance offered to come with us when I mentioned that we needed a healer and I accepted." She smiled at the kid, "His dad was the Mystic Yellow, and my soul-brother." She glanced at the group, "Given the results of my journey to Briarwood, being one healer and no refuge, I propose we utilize our fall back plan and head to Corinth City as soon as we're assured that winter is gone. We'll vote using the pebble method after dinner. Anyone with questions should see their section leader."

Slinging her arm around Lance, Nicole steered him over to her tent, "You'll room with me, Lance," she told him. "Everyone in the camp has a section leader that they look to in an attack. The sections are each responsible for an aspect of camp. Eric, for instance, handles sentries. Will is our head of mechanics. I'm scout leader, and by nomination, I serve as tie breaker and head honcho for the group as a whole. We have a hunting team, lead by Rob, and a camp team, led by Macy. I'll introduce you to Macy after you put your bag down. She'll be your section leader; she's an RN and handles our injuries so you'd be working with her anyways."

"Right," Lance agreed. He slung his bag into Nicole's tent and the pair headed over to a gray haired woman who was overseeing dinner preparations.

"Macy," Nicole said, "got five minutes?"

Macy smiled, "Of course, Nicole."

"This is Lance," Nicole said, "Lance, this is Macy."

"Pleased to meet you," Lance said politely and shook Macy's hand.

"You too," Macy said.

"I'm putting Lance in your section," Nicole said, "don't break him." She turned and headed away, leaving Lance and Macy to regard each other warily.


	3. Healer's Delima

"Sorry," Lance said after studying the older woman for a moment. "Nicole's always been a fan of the sink or swim school of life."

"I've noticed," Macy said with a warm smile, "so what does a healer do?"

Lance shook his head slightly, "It's not much different than a nurse or a doctor, really. My dad was a healer, and he worked at the Briarwood Children's Hospital as a nurse in the oncology ward. Mostly, I use holistic methods with judicious use of Western medicine. I can do some of what Pa called 'wave your hand and be healed' Healing, which is also called Healing Magic, but I can't Heal everything, and sometimes nature can do the job as well as, or even better than, I can." He waved his hand, "I know a lot about plants if it comes to it, Pa taught me that and Dad taught me about healing with them."

"Basically you've had a lot of training," Macy said.

Lance shrugged, "My first memories are following my dad around when he was doing work in the village in the forest. My first bit of magic was healing Mom's hand when she cut herself. By the time I entered the first grade, I could name most of the major classifications of plants and I could perform seven deliberate healing spells as well as control my instinctive abilities. Healing is what I was born to do." He blushed, "Sorry, I don't mean to sound so arrogant."

"Nonsense," Macy replied. She gestured, "Would you mind taking a look at our ill and injured, Lance?"

"Not at all," Lance replied and popped his knuckled, "Lead the way ma'am."

There were four patients in a large tent, and they all looked up in surprise when the two of them came in, "Everyone," Macy said, "this is Lance, he's a Healer from Briarwood. I'd like him to see what he can do for you."

"A healer," said one, a somewhat older man, "what's that mean?"

Lance shrugged, "My parents were Mystic Rangers, and I inherited their magic and my dad's healing abilities." He concentrated for a moment and then held out his hand, tightly closed in a fist, "Watch." He opened his hand and four butterflies, Monarchs to be precise, flittered out of his hand. They swirled around the room for a moment, and then each of them settled on the nose of a patient and vanished into gold sparkles. It was a silly spell and barely tapped his energies, but his dad used it sometimes on the wards to cheer up the kids and Lance had learned it to help cheer Gwen and Arthur as babies. "Now, may I see to you and heal you?" Lance said.

"You're just a kid," the older man protested, "what can you do?"

"As much as I can," Lance replied, "as much as I have the strength for."

"Ok," the man said and lifted a bandage wrapped arm.

Lance moved over and knelt by his cot, "What happened?" He asked.

"I tripped and fell while hunting," the man said quietly. "I was on a hill."

Lance spread his hand over the man's arm and chanted softly. In moments, he had his favorite diagnostic spell going. After nodding at it, he shook his hand lightly and ended the spell. "I can do something about that infection that's trying to come on right now," he said, "but exploding those Grinders took more energy than I would have liked. Tomorrow, I'll finish the healing."

That said, he took the man's arm into his lap, took a deep breath and called up the green energy of healing. It fell from his hand like a verdant waterfall, binding to the man's arm. He closed his eyes and let his instincts paint the picture of the wound. The infection appeared to him as a dark cloud and he sent lances of pure healing energy into that cloud. It took time, but finally, there were no more signs of infection, and he chanted a final spell to keep the wound protected until he could get back to it.

When he opened his eyes, everyone was staring at him, "What?" He asked.

"That was an impressive light show," the older man said, "My name's Jack."

"Lance," Lance replied, releasing the man's arm. "I'll come heal that tomorrow, sir. It shouldn't hurt though, not unless you jar it. Be careful too, you could hurt it worse without even realizing it."

"I'll remember that," Jack replied.

Lance carefully got to his feet and turned to the next bed with a calm smile, "Hi," he said to the little girl laying there, "I'm Lance."

"I'm Lucy," the little girl said quietly, "my tummy feels funny."

"Really?" Lance said, He sat on the edge of her cot and rested his hand on her stomach, "Let's find out why." He sent the healing spell into her stomach, and quickly diagnosed the issue. "Huh," he said, "I haven't seen that in a while."

"Seen what?" Lucy asked.

"Well Lucy," Lance said, "I have to know, what's your favorite kind of animal?"

"I like cats," Lucy said, "we used to have a pretty cat, he was white and brown. Mommy said he was an 'Imalan."

"A Himalayan," Lance repeated. "Well, your tummy feels funny because of this." He concentrated and lifted his hand off Lucy's stomach and a bunch of birds flew out from under his hand. They flew out of the tent, "Did that help?" Lucy nodded her eyes wide, "Excellent. Now, I want you to sleep tonight, ok. All night; and tomorrow you can go play again."

"Ok," Lucy said. Lance brushed the hair back from her forehead and released a mild sleep spell that would help keep her quiet until the rest of the healing was finished. He stood carefully and moved over to Macy.

"What happened?" Macy asked.

Lance glanced over his shoulder, "Lucy ate something she shouldn't," he said quietly, "probably a berry or something. She just got sick, didn't she?"

"Yes, not even two hours ago."

"Ok," Lance nodded, "I'm glad I was here then. Whatever she ate, I isolated it in her system and set a purge spell on her. When she wakes up, take her to the bathroom, because that's the best way for her to get the poison out."

"I'll see to it," Macy replied.

Lance turned to the other two cots, one contained a man who was asleep, but the girl was watching him. She was thin, pretty and about his age, so Lance gave her his calm smile and sat down beside her, "Hi, I'm Lance."

"I'm Elizabeth," the girl replied.

"So, what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Lance asked.

Elizabeth laughed, and then coughed, "Sorry," she said, "I can't breathe right, and I'm tired a lot and I bruise very easily. It all started a few weeks ago."

"Let's see what the magic says then," Lance said, and rested his hand on her arm. He released his spell while trying to think of what could match her symptoms.

Black, black and more black, in the lungs, along the joints, in the lymph nodes, it flowed over her like a dark cloud. Then it reached for him, and he jerked away, but it was covering him. It was in _his_ lungs, _his_ blood stream, and _his_ bones. Memory and magic collided and he wasn't aware as he slid off the cot, clutching his head and screaming in fear.


	4. A Warning Given

When Lance woke up, it was with a migraine and an oath to never do whatever it was he'd done again, ever. He pressed one hand to his forehead and groaned. "Lance?"

Lance opened his eyes to find Nicole leaning over him, "What happened?" He asked.

"You were looking over the injured and you just started screaming," Nicole replied, "what happened?"

Memory made itself known through the migraine. "The girl," he said, "Elizabeth? She's sick, really sick." He pushed himself up, finding himself in the infirmary tent with the four people he'd been intending to help.

"Lance," Nicole said, "you should stay down."

"No, I'll be ok," Lance said. He glanced at the man who had been sleeping, and was now awake, "I can't let this wait, I'm sorry." He stumbled over to Elizabeth and sat down beside her, "Sorry I scared you," he said.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked.

Lance smiled sadly, "Just an old memory crashing with a spell, old trauma." He laid his hand on her leg, "Elizabeth, I don't know an easy way to say this, but your illness, it's cancer." She gasped and paled and he squeezed, "I can't heal you all the way. I'm not strong enough even under the best circumstances,  _but_  if Corinth has all the advanced medicine they're supposed to, you will be ok. I can use my abilities to hold off your symptoms and to slow the advance of the cancer until we get there." He called, not the verdant green healing magic, but the softer, but infinitely more powerful yellow into his palm and let it flow over his hand and into her leg, where it spread out over her.

"How is that different than what you did for the others?" Nicole asked.

Lance sighed, "I'm an elect, Aunt Nicole, and I'm Dad's heir in almost every sense of the word, including being a future yellow ranger. When Mom was pregnant with me, there was that thing with the Giants of Higher Springs and Mom had to morph. They didn't  _know_  she was pregnant, but it affected me. I can't morph, I don't have a morpher, but I was connected to the Grid in the womb. I overheard Pa and Dad talking about it once, even if I wasn't supposed to. Studies about pregnant human Rangers are few and far between, usually a kid whose mom morphed while pregnant is different. For me, it means that I have a little extra power and I can do some things that I really shouldn't. It's why I'm so advanced in my training. My natural abilities are fed by a connection to the Grid and never had to 'wake up' if you would. They've always been active, and while they're getting stronger now that I've hit puberty, they were near what most healers consider full power all my life. The only thing keeping me from being at least a journeyman healer by now is youth and experience."

Lance turned back to Elizabeth, "Feeling better?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said.

"Good," Lance replied, "keep in mind, I haven't completely healed you. You are still going to tire easier than you would have, and bruise faster than normal, but your breathing should easy and you shouldn't have any other problems. Come see me in the morning and I'll do what I did again, ok?"

"Thank you," Elizabeth said.

Lance stood carefully, and nearly fell over as his body began to shake from strain. Nicole caught one arm and Macy caught the other, "I'm ok," he told them, "I just pushed a little harder than I should."

"If you hadn't of," Nicole began.

"Not here," Luke hissed, taking a step forward, and then a second one.

His aunt and Macy flanked him back to the tent he would share with his aunt, "You gave her pure Grid energy didn't you?" Nicole said as soon as Luke was on his cot.

"Yes," Luke replied. "Is she a Ranger kid? She felt a little like one."

"No," Nicole replied. "Elizabeth is the adopted daughter of Carter Grayson's half-brother, Richard. She spent a lot of time around Carter and his team, but she has no genetic connection to a Ranger. What do you mean, felt like one?"

"She's got a connection to the Grid," Luke said, "like she could be a Ranger if she had the morpher. Not like I have, but more like Mon or the twins, the Power's waiting for her to tap it."

"I don't understand," Macy said.

Luke sighed, "My parents were Rangers, meaning they drew power from what's called the Universal Morphin' Grid. Because my mother used the Power while she was pregnant with me, I was exposed in a mostly unformed state that gives me a unique link. In theory, with training, I could even achieve a low level morph, nothing Ranger level or anything, but  _some_  protection. Most Ranger kids, or future Rangers, have a latent link to the Grid. It doesn't do much for them, except giving them a predisposition for athletic prowess and decent healing abilities. Elizabeth has that latent link. I can channel Grid energy to her, which heals a little of the damage the cancer does to her."

"What does that mean about your little freak out?" Nicole asked.

"Have you ever heard about 'Heal or Die'?" Lance asked.

"No," Nicole said after a moment of thought.

Lance nodded, "Then listen closely," he sat back up, "there are times when a Healer has to heal, sometimes an injury but mostly it's an illness, and they hit what could be called a point of no return. They'll give so much of themselves to the healing that they can't back out without outside intervention. They will literally heal themselves to death, giving all of their energy. That's why I prefer to use holistic methods as much as possible. When I was a kid, Dad used to take me to the hospital to see what he did for a living. I made friends with this kid, Amber, and after a while, I started giving her healing energy to help her get better. She had cancer, you see, and the treatments weren't working. What I was doing wasn't enough, so I decided to sneak into the hospital at night and just heal her. I couldn't understand why Dad wouldn't do it."

Lance swallowed, "I almost killed myself. Dad figured it out where I was, but by the time he got there, I was locked in and couldn't be pulled out. I had to heal Amber or I would die. Dad, Mom and Pa all channeled their magic into me so that I could finish the job. Dad almost lost his job because of that. The parents heard what happened and got mad. It was only the fact that I spent two weeks flat on my back barely able to breath for myself that convinced them that such a thing would be unwise. I think some magic was worked to get people to back off as well. The hospital knew Dad was a Ranger anyways, after the final battle against the Master, but after a while, the parents just stopped asking. Dad later explained to me that he did use his magic to help the kids, in little doses. Sometimes it worked, but sometimes it didn't."

"So you could get trapped like that again," Nicole said.

"I could," Lance agreed, "but now you know about it. That means we can work to prevent it from happening."

"And work we shall," Nicole replied. "Get some sleep, Lance. We still have to break camp in the morning. With those Grinders following us in, we don't want to risk something worse finding us."

"Yes ma'am," Lance replied. "Just wake me in the morning," he added with a yawn.


	5. Attack

Lance had never really been one for clichés, but 'rag-tag band of survivors' fit their little group after three weeks on the road. After the debacle with Elizabeth, Nicole and Macy had hovered unreasonably close for a day or two, but after swearing to never Heal without supervision, he's managed to get them to back off to the point of allowing him to let Elizabeth ride as passenger in the ATV liberated from Winterlight. True to Nicole's word, the ATV had been converted to solar before they pulled out of their original camp and was now a useful addition to their fleet.

Somehow, by luck or fate, they'd managed to avoid the attention of more Grinders as they hurried across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In fact, they were midway between the Sierras and the Rockies when they ran into trouble for the first time.

They had just made camp when the scouts on the forward trail came pelting in with word of Grinders holding humans hostage not five miles away. Nicole called the meeting instantly. "Ok," She said, "here's what we know. There are at least fifty Grinders and almost that many prisoners and they appear to be mining."

"Mining what?" Someone asked.

"Gold?" Someone else suggested with a snicker.

"It's likely," William offered, "Gold is used in a lot of electronics."

"Either way," Nicole said, "we have two choices. We backtrack and go around the facility, adding a good fifty miles to our trip and losing a minimum of two days, or to try to free the prisoners. This is black bean, white bean voting. If you chose to abstain, that means you can't complain about the majority opinion, however if you vote black bean, which is no, and the white beans when, you may be asked to contribute to the rescue attempt. Under the age of fifteen means you still have to vote, but you will not be allowed to go on the rescue with the rest."

While there were a few cries of outrage for that proclamation from the few kids Lance's age, he just kept his mouth shut. He'd been involved enough the moment the injured came into camp. There wasn't a single doctor and Macy was the only nurse, but the ninjas all had first aid training and there was an EMT as well.

The voting went smoothly, and came out overwhelmingly in favor of rescuing the prisoners, no matter what it would do to their carefully balanced situation. That left Nicole to plan the assault while Lance tracked down the people he was currently healing. One was another food victim, this one being older than little Lucy was and having eaten something he'd been unknowingly allergic to. One was a broken bone that Lance was healing in stages to avoid draining his abilities and the final one was Elizabeth. The allergy patient only needed a final check up, which Lance performed under Macy's calm eye, and was given a clean bill of health and clearance to be a part of the forth coming mission. The broken bone patient was, reluctantly, kept back as the healing required on the radius and ulna would run the risk of draining Lance too far before a major campaign. Elizabeth, however, Lance gave a little extra Morphin' power, so that she could have more energy to assist in the camp defense if necessary. He went straight to bed right after that, as prepared as he could be for the next day's activities.

Nicole shook him awake before dawn, "We're about to leave," she told him, "you'd best get the medical supplies ready."

Lance nodded and rolled out of bed as she left. He dressed quickly, not in the jeans and t-shirt he usually wore, but in the Mystic uniform, his parents had given him for his fourteenth birthday. While not identical to his parents' uniform, it had the pockets and pouches a healer required, as well as a cape, sword, and arrow case which he took with him to the makeshift infirmary and kept near at hand. "How's it coming?" Macy asked him as the sun finally cleared the horizon.

"Swimmingly," Lance replied as he toyed with his sword. "Are you using the fire right now?"

"No," Macy replied.

"May I?" Lance asked.

"What do you want to use it for?" Macy asked.

"I want to use a power stone to cast a fire scry to see if I can find out what's going on," Lance replied.

"Won't that drain your power?" Macy asked.

"Not with a power stone," Lance replied, "the spell is powered by a previously charge item, like a battery, instead of from me. Power stones are generally one use only, but I can refill them over and over as needed. Those quartz rocks I've been collecting are excellent at holding a charge. Unfortunately, I can't use them for healing, the power works differently, but scrying spells, and even that exploding tank trick I used last time I fought Grinders, can be done from a power stone if I have enough warning."

"Ok," Macy said.

"Come watch with me?" Lance offered, "I don't think you'll hear what's happening, but you should be able to see the picture."

"Thank you," Macy replied.

Lacy took one of the quartz stones from his pocket as they walked over to the fire and set it down as close as he could reach the flames. A few words later, and they could see Nicole crouching behind a rock at the top of a canyon and watching the Grinders guarding the mine. Eric McKnight was beside her, but none of the others in the party were visible. The canyon might have once been beautiful, with a waterfall still visible at one end, and a stream flowing through it. From the blasted trees and withered grass, it was even possible that it had once had a park-like vibe, but Venjix's pollution had ruined it. Lance winced softly, the Earth ninjas wouldn't be at all well when they came back, their sensitivity to the Earth's pollution was strongest after they had to use their elemental powers. He'd have to watch them and make sure all the poisons were leached out of them. As they watched, a quartet of Grinders on bikes came into view. "Must be a patrol," Lance said softly.

"Go team one," Nicole whispered into one of the hoarded radios.

Moments later, plumes of dust streaked across the floor of the canyon before six ninjas shot out of the dirt, two hitting the Grinders on bikes and the other four going after other targets. "Team two," McKnight said.

Air ninjas swooped in from the top of the canyon, hitting their targets with the taser-like devices that Will had devised for fighting Grinders.

"Three," Nicole finished.

Like a pair of wraiths, the two water ninjas rose out of the stream and fired their own taser devices. Once the taser devices were used, the ninjas switched to maces, flails, and morning stars to batter the Grinders out of commission in a combination of ninja streak and sheer strength. A few of the ninjas went down, but Lance didn't see any of them go still in the finality of death.

"They won," Macy murmured.

"The mine," Luke corrected, "could be more."

Sure enough, more Grinders flooded out of the mine, but the ten ninjas were able to put them down easily. Nicole lifted her radio, "Team One, sweep the mine, get our people out of there."

Three of the four Earth ninjas headed inside, the fourth was sitting beside the river, holding his arm close to his chest.

Moments later, people began flooding out of the mines, stumbling as they tried to adjust to the sunlight after what had been an undoubtedly dark hole in the ground. Nicole turned to Eric, "Get back to camp, confirm our victory. Have the kids bring down the ATVs for our walking wounded. Tell Lance we have four down, plus the prisoners."

"Yes ma'am," Eric said with a light grin. He shifted and stood up.

Lance leaned back with a slight nod, "Now, we can say we won," he told Macy


	6. Healer's Heart

For Lance, the return of the victorious ninjas meant the start of work. Macy, as per their earlier agreement, started with triage, ordering the injured ninjas in order of greatest need while Macy's second, Laura, started feeding the prisoners soup. Thankfully, the ninjas were easy to get settled with pain salves and slow healing spells and the Earth ninjas were sipping restoring brews to counter the effects of the damaged earth they'd channeled. It was a brew Lance had learned for his qualifications that he'd never thought he'd have to make so often so soon. It didn't help that the ninjas had taken to calling it 'Wolfsbane Potion' for it's horrible taste and how sugar rendered it useless.

Finally, though, he was free to start checking on the prisoners. "My name is Lance," he said, stepping into the circle of prisoners, "My parents were Mystic Rangers and I am a trained, albeit young, healer. With your permission, I'd like to check you over, see if there are any major medical issues, and do what I can to help you feel better."

"Lance?"

Lance went very still as a slender, bearded man stood up, "Pa?" he managed finally.

"My God, Lance," Xander Bly said as he stepped forward.

"Pa," Lance said and held up his hand as memories he'd tried to suppress surged, "prove it."

Xander hesitated, and Lance made no effort to hide his longing and pain. "Here," Xander said, he held his hand out and created a shower of green sparkles that coalesced into his morpher. He flipped his hand down, "Let's see Venjix do this," he muttered, "Magical Source, Mystic Force."

The rush of energy was unmistakable to Lance and he threw himself at his dad with a sob. He barely felt the change when Xander demorphed, focused instead on the arms that held him close. "Pa," Lance whimpered through his tears.

"I thought you were with Nick and Madison," Xander said after a Lance began to calm down again.

"I'll explain later," Nicole said from behind them. "I've kept Lance safe, Xander. It's good to see you against brother."

"Hey Nicole," Xander said, "I never figured to see a genius gnome like you out here." He reached a hand out to clasp Nicole's hand over Lance's shoulder.

"I wasn't about to get shut up like a rat in a trap," Nicole replied, "and there were people who needed help out here that Corinth wasn't going to offer." She hesitated, "I don't suppose you know."

"Chip and the kids are safe," Xander said. "They were made to get on an evac bus by the army instead of getting back to the base, but they're safe."

"And Mom," Lance finally managed to say.

"I'm sorry, mate," Xander said, "we got into it with the army guys and the grinders showed up and cut us off."

Lance closed his eyes, "You're sure about Dad though?"

"Positive," Xander said firmly.

Lance freed himself from Xander's embrace, "I have work to do, Dad."

"You do, huh?" Xander said with a fond smile.

"Master Andair said that the only reason I wasn't a journeyman already was because I'm not fifteen yet. I've got two months and I can start saying I'm a journeyman." Lance replied, "Now hold still." He closed his eyes and let the magic flow, listening to what it would tell him. "All right," he said, "you got lucky. The Power has kept you in good order, just eat and sleep and try not to fight Grinders for a few days, ok?"

"You got it," Xander said.

"Let's sit over here," Nicole said, "and I'll explain what happened."

"Sure," Xander replied.

"I'm keeping an eye on Lance today any ways," Nicole said as they settled on a cot.

Lance turned back to the group, "Sorry about that," he said with a sheepish smile, "as I was saying I'm Lance and I'm a healer. I just want to make sure you're all ok right now. I have what can be called a magical gift that lets me heal people." He turned and sat down beside his first patient, "May I check you for injuries?"

The tall, African American smiled, "Sure kid, go right ahead."

Lance reached out with his magic, and then looked at the man with a frown, "You're a Ranger," he said, dropping his voice.

"It's ok," the man said, "I never had a secret identity. I'm Joel Rawlings."

Lance blinked a few times, "Lightspeed Green," he said as his memory caught up with him. "You have active powers, right?"

"Right," Joel said, "like your Pa, I'm probably in good stead."

"I'd say you're a little better," Lance replied. He hesitated then turned to Nicole, "Hey Nicole, where's Will?"

"He's checking the ATVs," Nicole replied, "why?"

"Will, as in my son," Joel said.

"Yeah," Lance replied with a grin. "He's here; he's in charge of everything mechanical. He's over there," Lance pointed, "just down that hill where all the ATVs are."

"If you'll excuse me then," Joel said, "I'll have something to eat, after I see my son." He got up and walked away.

Lance moved on to the next patient with a calm smile. An ache that had plagued him for nearly a year was eased a little. He had known coming out here would change things, he had expected it to hard, even expect to die. He had not expected to find out that most of his family was alive. Glancing over to where his dad was talking to Nicole, Lance knew that things were going to be all right.

Xander looked up, as if sensing Lance's gaze, and smiled at him. Lance smiled back before turning back to his work.

Everything was going to be all right.


	7. The Next Stage

Crossing the Rockies was something Lance never wanted to go through ever again. Nicole apparently knew people who knew how to cross safely, although she never explained how she met the people who met up with the scouts every morning to show them the path. If she did explain, Lance never heard the answer, but then he was busy, between Elizabeth and the Earth ninjas and helping Macy he spent his time between sleeping and traveling doing something. At least he'd managed to get his dad as a driving partner.

Finally, they came over the last of the mountains and their guide led them into a valley where a small camp was already set up. Nicole, who had been walking her bike by their ATV grinned, "We'll camp here tonight. We have some work to do before we cross the plains and get to Corinth."

"You know these people?" Xander asked.

"Of course," Nicole replied with a slight grin. "You think we just happened to successfully handle a Venjix prison camp? These guys have it down to a science. They free camps and move people around so that Venjix can't get them again. Some of our people will probably opt for joining them, but the rest will come to Corinth with us." She slapped the visor down on her helmet and mounted her bike, zipping down the line to join the head of it just as they reached the camp.

"She's something," Xander said with a sigh. "Can you imagine, they've got a whole network up out here?"

"Knowing Nicole," Lance said as he straightened up, "she probably plotted the whole thing, started it, and runs it."

Xander laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised child of mine." When they got into the camp, after parking the ATV, Xander swore, using one of the words he denied knowing when Lance got in trouble for using them.

"What?" Lance asked.

"Of all people," Xander said wonderingly, "Come here, Lance. Some people I want you to meet."

They walked over to where Nicole was talking to a pair of men in ninja leathers, one was a dark skinned man, probably from the Pacific Islands in the red of an air ninja, and the other was a curly topped brunette in the yellow of an earth ninja. "We can handle whoever wants to say," the air ninja was saying.

Xander cleared his throat, "Pardon the interruption," he said, "but I believe I know you."

The two ninjas stared at him for a moment before the earth ninja laughed, "Xander Bly, what's up dude?"

Xander gripped the man's hand for a moment, "Dustin Brooks," he said, "of all people Nicole recruited I should have expected you."

"You remember Shane right?" Dustin asked.

"Right," Xander said, and shook Shane's hand too, "good to see you two made it out." He dropped his arm around Lance's shoulders, "I don't know if you remember our oldest, Lance. Lance, it's been a while, but this is Dustin and Shane from the Wind Ninja Academy, they were Rangers as well." Lance smiled at them both, suddenly feeling shy at meeting the two Rangers. He knew his dad was friends with their teammate Tori more than either of these two, but he had met Shane a few times, coming to visit Uncle Nick for some business or other.

"Well," Nicole said, "now that that's over with." She smiled a little, "I'll talk to my people. I'd like the earth ninjas to stay here. Going over the Plains isn't going to be easy for them."

"I wouldn't want to risk it," Dustin said, his smile fading a little. "I don't even like to leave the Roost much, it's not so bad here but it's a battle we have to fight every day."

Lance hesitated for a moment, then spoke up, "I'm a, a Healer, sir. I have something for Earth ninjas to help with the contaminated soil."

"He's right," Xander said, "that concoction of his tastes horrible, but it works."

"Thanks," Dustin said, "I'm good right now, but one of the guys at the Roost ran into something nasty. He's been sick for a few days now."

"I'll just get it then," Lance said and slid out from his father's arm. He ran back to the ATV to get put together a small bag with the necessary items.

"Lance," Macy said, "you're on supper duty tonight."

Lance smiled, "I won't forget, I just need to give this to Dustin. He's got an earth ninja that needs some Wolfsbane."

Macy smiled tightly, "All right dear. Just don't give everything away."

"I wouldn't do that," Lance said, "and Dustin's a yellow ranger like my dad. He wouldn't lie about something like this."

"Go on then," Macy said, "wouldn't want to keep the ranger waiting."

"Yes ma'am," Lance said with a cheeky grin. He trotted back over to the group, "Here," he said, holding out the bag to Dustin. "You have to heat a cup full to boiling then add a vial of the powder. Let it cool to drinking temperature and drink. It tastes like dirty socks, but it works. Do not try to make it taste better, sweeteners react badly, they can even make it poisonous. My suggest is to hold your nose and drink it fast then drink a lot of water. Not milk. You'll just end up burning at both ends if you drink milk within an hour of drinking that."

Dustin took the bag, "I'll try to remember it."

"I can write it down, if you're going to be around for a while. I have to help with supper now." Lance said and all but bolted back to Macy.

"Everything ok, Lance?" Macy asked as he came to a stop beside her.

"Yeah, sorry," Lance said. He jerked his head back, "Dustin was the first male yellow ranger, and my dad was second. Although there was an Elder Yellow, Dustin was made Senior a few years back, to keep the command triad in one team. Even though I don't have a morpher, Dustin's my Senior too, since I will be a yellow when I'm given a morpher."

Macy squeezed his shoulder, "Its ok to be nervous, Lance. I take it Dustin's something of a hero for you?"

"After my dad, yeah," Lance said, he smiled a little, "I guess I looked a little silly."

"Not really," Macy said, she glanced behind Lance, "he's coming over here."

Lance turned as Dustin approached, "So," Dustin said, "are you doing all right, Lance?"

"Yes sir," Lance said. "Pa makes sure I don't get into too much trouble."

"You just seem nervous," Dustin said, "and don't call me sir. I'm not a knight." Lance grinned weakly at Dustin's joke. "Shane and I will be spending the night, so if you would write down those instructions I'd appreciate it."

"I'll do that after supper," Lance said.

"Thank you," Dustin said, "this is going to be a lot of help." He eyed Lance, "You haven't been thinking about ninja training have you?"

"No sir," Lance replied, "I'm going to be a knight and a healer like my dad."


	8. Home

The four earth ninjas chose to stay with Dustin the next day, leaving with blessings and Lance's potion for the poison in the polluted earth. Another dozen from the camp also decided to stay, not willing to get any closer to the purported stronghold of Venjix. As they crossed the Great Plains, Lance couldn't help but feel that they'd gotten off easy. Corinth was located south of Boston on the coast, the oldest of a series of domed cities designed for surviving impossible conditions on other planets. Why such cities were needed, Lance didn't know, even Nicole didn't know, but they existed and they had saved humanity.

Very little lived on the Great Plains of the Midwest, most of the land was scorched and barren, poisoned by Venjix's armies in their terrible war. They barely managed to carry enough water to drink, and Xander and Lance were hard pressed to purify what water sources they did find. Their biggest adventure by far was crossing the Mississippi River. Although they were following what had been major highways, the bridges were often destroyed or damaged so badly they all held their breath as each vehicle made the journey.

They lost no one though, thanks to a quick thinking water ninja who dove in after one motorcyclist who fell off a low bridge after a blowout overbalanced her. Finally, they reached the Appalachian Mountains, the final barrier between them and Corinth. "All you have to do," Nicole said to Xander after supper their first day in the mountains, "is follow this road over to Omega City, then it's two days to Corinth. You'll pick up their radio broadcast in Omega; it'll get you the rest of the way."

"You?" Xander repeated.

"I'm not going to Corinth," Nicole replied, "there are too many people out west who need help for me to let myself be locked up." She smiled, "Venjix isn't going to kill me, Xander. I'm too tough for him."

Xander sighed, "What am I supposed to tell Chip then? Sorry love, but your sister didn't come with us?"

"Tell him that I'm being a Winter-Thorn," Nicole replied, "I'm helping people in need, because I can do it."

"It's not like she'll be alone," Eric spoke up. "I'm going back too." He slung his arm over Nicole's shoulders, "She needs someone to look after her."

Will looked at Joel for a long moment, "I'm sorry," he said.

Joel smiled, "I understand son," he replied. "I need to get to Corinth. Dana took Heather, Hannah, and Jack with her. I'll let them know you're alive."

"Thank you," Will replied gratefully. He turned to the other two, "If you think you're going to let some half-trained amateur mechanic work on my babies, you've got another think coming. We can trust Dad and Xander to get everyone to Corinth. They  _are_  Power Rangers after all."

"Right," Xander said. "You explain it though."

The transition of power went smoothly; everyone had come to respect Joel's instincts for the weather and Xander's obvious magic. Those who had been there from the beginning had embraced Xander enthusiastically, having seen Lance's minor magical abilities in action. Although Xander wasn't the healer Lance was, he could, and did, help his son balance magic and holistic methods to keep the mixed company alive, including Elizabeth.

By the time they cleared Omega and began the final stage of their journey, however, Elizabeth was clearly growing weaker. Lance poured power into her three times a day under his dad's watchful eye, keeping her out of pain and able to keep moving.

Then a Venjix patrol cornered them as they were looking for camp. Everyone jumped to defend themselves from the dozen Grinders, using techniques perfected by ninja raiders over the months on the road.

Just as they knocked down the last of the Grinders, a hail of lasers warned them that the patrol hadn't been alone. Macy organized people to pull the wounded back and Lance prepared himself for the difficult battle of saving as many as he could.

"Magical Source," Xander shouted suddenly, "Mystic Force."

"Lightspeed Rescue," Joel added.

Lance closed his eyes, because they wouldn't have morphed unless they were buying time.

Suddenly, overhead, a pair of winged vehicles appeared, firing lasers and missiles at the Grinders. Lance stared up as they swooped back around, the back end opening and releasing a Black and Green Ranger between Xander and Joel and the Grinders. "Get them out of here," The Black ordered before drawing his blaster and following the Green into battle.

Lance grabbed the ends of a stretcher along with Macy and heaved it onto an ATV, ducking as stray blaster bolts flew past. "Go," Macy ordered the driver once the straps were down.

A fortunate stop in Colorado Springs had landed the party with enough ATVs and such for the entire party, including two trucks that had proved invaluable for carrying water and now were packed with wounded. They fled for Corinth with four Rangers and two Zords covering their rear guard. When three more Rangers appeared as they crossed the remains of a battle field, this time in Red, Blue and Yellow, Lance felt a sliver of hope.

When the gate to Corinth was guarded by people Lance recognized from his parents' Ranger past, he knew they were safe.

The best part was when his dad appeared with the medical team. That made wherever they were home.


End file.
